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Nextcloud Installation on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS

Overview

Nextcloud is a powerful platform for self-hosted collaboration, file synchronization, document editing, calendar, contacts, and much more. By the end of this guide, you’ll have a fully working Nextcloud server ready for personal or team use.

Prerequisites

Before starting, make sure you have:

  • A clean Ubuntu 24.04 LTS server
  • Root access or a sudo-enabled user
  • A valid domain name (optional, but required for HTTPS)

1. Initial Server Setup

Begin by creating a non-root user and updating your system packages to ensure you have the latest security updates and software.

Create a New User

➡ This creates a new user with admin rights so you don’t need to use root directly. 

adduser <username>
usermod -aG sudo <username>
Log in as your new user after setup.

Update System Packages

➡ Keeping your server up to date ensures security patches and latest features. 

sudo apt update
sudo apt dist-upgrade
sudo apt autoremove

Set Hostname & Hosts File

➡ A proper hostname helps your server identify itself on the network. Update these system files and reboot to apply changes. 

sudo nano /etc/hostname
sudo nano /etc/hosts

Enter your server's hostname and domain name as needed.

Reboot to apply changes: 

sudo reboot

Note

If you own a domain, make sure DNS points to your server’s IP.

2. Download and Unpack Nextcloud

Get the latest Nextcloud release from the official source, and unzip it to prepare for installation. 

wget https://download.nextcloud.com/server/releases/latest.zip
sudo apt install unzip
unzip latest.zip

3. Install and Configure MariaDB

MariaDB will serve as the backend database. Install it, secure the installation, and create a database and user for Nextcloud.

Install MariaDB Server

➡ Installs the database engine. 

sudo apt install mariadb-server
Check the status of mariadb service: 
systemctl status mariadb

Secure MariaDB

➡ Runs a wizard to secure your database (set root password, remove test DB, etc.). 

sudo mysql_secure_installation

Create Nextcloud Database & User

➡ Creates a dedicated database and user account for Nextcloud. 

sudo mariadb
Within MariaDB prompt: 
CREATE DATABASE nextcloud;
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON nextcloud.* TO 'nextcloud'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'mypassword';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Note

Replace mypassword with a strong and unique password of your choice.

4. Install Apache, PHP, and Required Modules

These are the web server and PHP modules required by Nextcloud for full functionality. ➡ These modules give Nextcloud its features (file uploads, encryption, images, etc.). 

sudo apt install libmagickcore-6.q16-6-extra php php-apcu php-bcmath php-cli php-common php-curl php-gd php-gmp php-imagick php-intl php-mbstring php-mysql php-zip php-xml
Enable the recommended PHP extensions: 
sudo phpenmod apcu bcmath gmp imagick intl

5. Move Nextcloud Files and Set Permissions

Move the Nextcloud files you extracted in step 2 into the web server’s root directory, then set the appropriate ownership and permissions. ➡ This ensures Apache can serve Nextcloud securely and disables the default page.

mv nextcloud <your-domain>   #e.g. mv nextcoud nextcloud.example.com
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data <your-domain> # set permission
sudo mv <your-domain> /var/www/
sudo a2dissite 000-default.conf   #disable the default web page that ships with Apache since we won’t be needing it for anything

6. Configure Apache

Set up your Apache virtual host to serve Nextcloud instance, enabling URL rewriting and access control.

Create a Virtual Host File

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/<your-domain>.conf
Paste and edit: 
<VirtualHost *:80>
    DocumentRoot "/var/www/<your-domain>"
    ServerName your-domain

    <Directory "/var/www/<your-domain>/">
        Options MultiViews FollowSymlinks
        AllowOverride All
        Order allow,deny
        Allow from all
    </Directory>

   TransferLog /var/log/apache2/<your-domain>_access.log
   ErrorLog /var/log/apache2/<your-domain>_error.log

</VirtualHost>

Note

Replace <your-domain> with your nextcloud domain (e.g. nextcloud.example.com)

Enable the site: 

sudo a2ensite <your-domain>.conf
➡ This tells Apache how to serve your Nextcloud site.

7. PHP Configuration

Tune PHP settings for optimal performance and stability with Nextcloud.

sudo nano /etc/php/8.3/apache2/php.ini

Update these values:

  • memory_limit = 512M
  • upload_max_filesize = 200M
  • max_execution_time = 360
  • post_max_size = 200M
  • date.timezone = Your/Timezone (e.g. America/Detroit)
  • opcache.enable=1
  • opcache.interned_strings_buffer=16
  • opcache.max_accelerated_files=10000
  • opcache.memory_consumption=128
  • opcache.save_comments=1
  • opcache.revalidate_freq=1

Enable important modules: 

sudo a2enmod dir env headers mime rewrite ssl
Enable APCu for CLI: 
sudo nano /etc/php/8.3/mods-available/apcu.ini
Add the following to the end of the file: 
apc.enable_cli=1
Restart Apache to apply changes: 
sudo systemctl restart apache2

8. Final Database and Security Tweaks

Tune Nextcloud Database

Add missing database indices using Nextcloud’s command line tool to improve database performance.

sudo chmod +x /var/www/<your-domain>/occ
sudo /var/www/<your-domain>/occ db:add-missing-indices
sudo chmod -x /var/www/<your-domain>/occ

9. Obtain a TLS Certificate (Let's Encrypt)

Set up free, trusted SSL certificates to encrypt your site’s traffic. ➡ This encrypts traffic so your files and logins are secure.

sudo apt install snapd
sudo snap install core; sudo snap refresh core
sudo snap install --classic certbot
sudo ln -s /snap/bin/certbot /usr/bin/certbot
sudo certbot --apache
Follow prompts carefully to secure your installation.

10. Miscellaneous Adjustments

Protect config.php

Limit access to critical config files for security.

sudo chmod 660 /var/www/<your-domain>/config/config.php
sudo chown root:www-data /var/www/<your-domain>/config/config.php

Enable Memory Caching

Improve performance by enabling APCu caching in your Nextcloud config:

sudo nano /var/www/<your-domain>/config/config.php
Add the following line to the bottom: 
'memcache.local' => '\OC\Memcache\APCu',
'default_phone_region' => 'US',

Enable Strict Transport Security

Improve security with HTTP Strict Transport Security.

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/<your-domain>-le-ssl.conf
Add the following line after the server name: 
<IfModule mod_headers.c>
    Header always set Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=15552000; includeSubDomains"
</IfModule>

Restart Apache: 

sudo systemctl restart apache2
➡ Forces browsers to always use HTTPS.

Completion 🎉

Your Nextcloud server is ready! Visit:

https://<your-domain>

Follow the installer to create your admin account and connect to the database.

Troubleshooting
  • Apache shows a blank page Ensure permissions are correct: 
    sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/<your-domain>

Restart Apache: 

sudo systemctl restart apache2

  • Database connection errors Double-check your database credentials in: 
    sudo nano /var/www/<your-domain>/config/config.php

Make sure MariaDB is running: 

systemctl status mariadb

  • HTTPS certificate fails Ensure your domain points to your server’s public IP. 

    sudo certbot renew --dry-run

  • File upload too large Increase upload limit in php.ini: 

    upload_max_filesize = 512M
post_max_size = 512M

  • Nextcloud says “memory caching not configured” Edit config.php: 

    'memcache.local' => '\OC\Memcache\APCu',

Restart Apache. 

sudo systemctl restart apache2

  • “Trusted Domain” error Add your domain to the trusted list: 
    'trusted_domains' =>
array (
    0 => 'localhost',
    1 => 'your-domain.com',
),

Reference